Stand up and be counted...

This is my final column before this year’s elections and I would like to start it by thanking the Spalding Guardian for giving us the chance to highlight some of the work that members of the council Cabinet have been doing on our community’s behalf.

It is vitally important that all eligible would-be voters are registered to vote

I hope you have all found these articles useful, informative and occasionally entertaining.

Being a member of the Cabinet is a great privilege and very rewarding, but it is a privilege only open to those people who are lucky enough to be elected and this brings me to the subject of this week’s column.

I would urge everyone who cares about our community to consider standing for election, whatever your politics.

Whilst it is true that being a councillor is hard work and time-consuming, it is also very rewarding and fulfilling.

If you care about the place you live in, it is one of the best ways to make sure that you can play an active part in its future.

You can get nomination papers from the council’s offices in Priory Road, Spalding, or online at www.electoralcommission.org.uk

The deadline to hand them in is April 9.

If you don’t have the time or inclination to stand can I at least implore you to use your vote for the candidate you feel will best look after the community in the way that you would want.

This is the first time since 1979 that elections for our council will be held on the same day as the General Election, so it is vitally important that all eligible would-be voters are registered to vote.

The good news is that registering will only take five minutes of your time and can be done online at www.gov.uk/registertovote before the deadline of April 20.

If you do not think that any of those people standing offer a choice that you like the look of, can I ask you to still go to the polling station, and just put your ballot paper in the box, without any mark on it or write a witty comment on it –to show that you are not happy with the offer in front of you.